Make this healthy dark chocolate tahini brownies recipe any time you are craving a gooey, decadent, and fudgy chocolate dessert!
Healthy tahini brownies
Prepare to be shocked at just how good these brownies taste.
Heart healthy tahini adds incredible moisture and richness to the recipe, while pairing perfectly with the deep chocolate flavor.
The brownies can be grain free, gluten free, dairy free, oil free, egg free, and vegan. But more importantly, they are out-of-this-world delicious.
Readers also love these Sweet Potato Brownies
Ingredients for the recipe
You will need unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch cocoa powder, black beans, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar or a sweetener with no sugar, chocolate chips, pure vanilla extract, and of course tahini.
Black beans – This low calorie superfood ingredient adds fiber, protein, and moisture to the brownies. Choose either cooked beans or canned beans.
Flour – Options that work include white all purpose flour, some brands of gluten free all purpose flour, sorghum, oat, whole wheat, or spelt flour.
You can also make your own oat flour by processing half a cup of rolled oats or quick oats with a food processor until it reaches a flour texture.
Or for grain free and flourless tahini brownies, substitute an equal amount of fine almond meal or almond flour for the oat or wheat flour.
Cocoa powder – Dutch process cocoa powder is what gives desserts a classic brownie flavor. It should be available in most regular grocery stores and health food stores.
If you cannot find it, simply increase the regular cocoa powder to a fourth cup.
Sugar – Go with your favorite granulated sweetener. For refined sugar free brownies, use coconut sugar, date sugar, or sugar free xylitol or granulated erythritol.
Ingredient substitutions – As a fun flavor twist, add half a ripe banana to the food processor before blending.
If you are looking for low carb and keto tahini brownies, use the keto brownie recipe in the recipe box below. Swirl in a fourth cup or so of soft tahini before baking.
Chocolate tahini brownie recipe video
Above – watch the step by step video
More about tahini
Sometimes called tahina, tahini is a Middle Eastern condiment made from ground, hulled, toasted sesame seeds.
Tahini is often used in savory recipes, such as salad dressings, dips, hummus, or baba ghanoush. However, it also makes a wonderful addition to cakes, cookies, and pastries.
Just one tablespoon of this healthy sesame spread has 90 calories and 3 grams of protein, plus antioxidants, calcium, iron, selenium, and fiber.
The flavor of tahini can be described as strong, slightly bitter, earthy, and nutty.
In these brownies, the bold tahini is tempered by the cocoa powder, giving the recipe a slight sesame kick without overpowering the rich chocolate flavor.
Vegan tahini brownie recipe
These brownies are naturally egg free and milk free, with tahini standing in for butter.
Be sure to use nondairy chocolate chips if serving the recipe as a vegan dessert.
Most grocery stores should sell dairy free dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips. If you are unable to find them, you can finely chop a vegan chocolate bar and use the chopped chocolate in place of chips.
Or make your own homemade Sugar Free Chocolate Chips.
How to make tahini brownies
Start by greasing an eight inch square baking pan or lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit. If using canned black beans, drain and rinse the beans very well.
Combine the black beans, tahini, cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, sugar, and pure vanilla extract in a food processor until completely smooth.
While a blender technically works, I highly recommend using a food processor if possible, because it will yield brownies with the best texture.
You can stir in the chocolate chips before or after blending, but do be sure to add them. The brownies will be nowhere near as rich and fudgy without them.
Spread the tahini brownie batter into the prepared pan. Feel free to sprinkle extra mini chocolate chips on top and/or swirl a few tablespoons of softened tahini into the top of the brownie batter with a fork.
Place the brownie pan on the center rack of the oven. Bake for fourteen minutes in a calibrated oven. The brownies should still look underdone after this time.
Let the brownies cool, then refrigerate the pan – uncovered or very loosely covered with a cloth or paper towels – until firm. The chewy brownie texture and flavor are even better the next day, if you can wait that long!
After a day, cover and refrigerate any leftover brownies, leaving just a small opening in the container for excess moisture to escape. The chocolate dessert should stay good for about three to four days.
You can also slice and freeze leftovers in an airtight covered container for up to three months or so. Thaw before enjoying.
Tips for using a food scale
If you wish to measure the tahini brownie ingredients in grams instead of the tablespoons and cups listed in the recipe box, here are the amounts to use:
80 grams tahini, 40 grams flour or oats, 10 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, 10 grams Dutch cocoa or additional regular cocoa powder, 100 grams sweetener, 5 grams pure vanilla extract, 80 grams chocolate chips, and 250 grams black beans.
If using canned beans, measure the 250 grams of beans after draining and rinsing. Or if using cooked beans, measure the 250 grams after cooking and draining. This amount is equivalent to 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans or a 15 oz can after draining.
Also add in the 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, whose amounts are too small to measure out with a food scale.
Tahini Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 can black beans (or try these Keto Brownies)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional regular
- 1/3 cup flour (white, spelt, oat, almond, sorghum, etc.)
- 1/3 cup tahini
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp each: salt and baking soda
- 1/2 cup sugar (for refined-sugar-free, make Black Bean Brownies)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (not optional)
- optional 1-2 tbsp additional tahini as decoration
Instructions
- *Most flours will work in the recipe, including almond flour for grain free brownies. Readers have had success with coconut flour: use 2 tablespoons instead of 1/3 cup since coconut flour is so absorbent.Drain and rinse the beans very well. Preheat the oven to 330 F. Grease or line an 8-inch baking pan. Combine all non-optional ingredients in a food processor until completely smooth. A blender can technically work, but taste and texture are better in a food processor. Spread into the pan. If desired, sprinkle more chocolate chips on top or swirl the additional tahini into the brownie batter with a fork. Bake 14 minutes. Refrigerate the still underbaked brownies until firm, uncovered or very loosely covered. They taste ten times better the next day, if you can wait!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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More healthy tahini desserts
(Use tahini instead of the peanut butter or almond butter.)
patricia says
Could I use almond butter instead of the tahini in this recipe? I have it on hand already.
CCK Media Team says
Sure 🙂
Ruth-Anne says
What size of can of beans did you use?
CC says
Best brownies I have ever tried!
TS says
Delicious! I used whole wheat flour and blitzed the chocolate chips into batter rather than folding them in afterwards. The batter was very dry so I added a touch of oat milk. So good!!